Maharashtra was known as Rashtra in the Rig Veda{needs citation},Rashtrik in Ashoka's inscriptions, and Maha rashtra afterwards, as attested by Hiuen-Tsang and other travellers. The name appears to have been derived from Maharashtri, in an old form of Prakrit, an ancient Indian language. However, there are other theories put forward by different schools of thought. One possible derivation is believed to be the corruption of the term Maha Kantara, which means "Great Forest".[2]